Kansas City Employment

Employment and Industries in the Kansas City, Missouri Area

The Kansas City metropolitan area sprawls across parts of both Missouri and Kansas. As might be expected for a large metropolitan area, the Kansas City area has a thriving economy. The Kansas City metropolitan area is home to eight Fortune 1000 company headquarters. The largest company headquartered in the Kansas City area is YRC Worldwide, the most famous is probably H&R Block.

Historically known for beef and its large rail network, major industries in the Kansas City area now include:

Distribution

Education

Government

Health services

Inter modal transportation

Manufacturing

Professional and business services

Warehousing

Helping to fuel the Kansas City economy is a well educated work force. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, almost 27% of the Kansas City population has a college degree or higher. In 2005, Central Connecticut State University ranked Kansas City in the top 15 most literate cities in the United States.

Business honors and awards received by the Kansas City area include:

The Kansas City metropolitan area was ranked 11th among the top fifty large U.S. cities on Entrepreneur magazine's 2005 list of "Hot Cities for Entrepreneurs". Entrepreneur also ranked Kansas City tenth for "rapid growth rank".

The Kansas City metropolitan area was ranked 20th on Expansion Management's list of "America's 50 Hottest Cities".

Expansion Management also ranks Kansas City as a "Five Star Business Opportunity Metro".

The Kansas City metropolitan area ranked in the top fifty among large U.S. Cities in Inc. magazine's 2006 list of "Best Cities for Doing Business". In 2004 and 2005, Kansas city ranked second for "Most Balanced Economy and Growth".

The Kansas City area was ranked 68th on Forbes magazine's list of the "Best Places For Business And Careers" (out of the 200 largest metropolitan areas).

For business travelers, the Kansas City area is served by the Kansas City International Airport (MCI). The airport serves almost ten million passengers a year making it one of the busier airports in the United States.

Fortune 1000 companies with headquarters in the Kansas City area include:

AMC Entertainment

Aquila

DST Systems

Ferrellgas Partners

Great Plains Energy

H&R Block

Seaboard

YRC Worldwide

Other companies with headquarters or major operations in the Kansas City metropolitan area include:

American Century Companies

Andrews McMeel Universal

Applebee's restaurant chain

Black and Veatch

Burns and McDonnell

Cerner

Commerce Bancshares

Garmin

Hallmark Cards

Inergy

Interstate Bakeries Corporation

J.E. Dunn Construction Group

Kansas City Power and Light Company

Kansas City Southern Industries

Lockton Companies

Premium Standard Farms

Russell Stover Candies

Sprint Nextel Corporation

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States of America

Wolferman's bakery

Business organizations and associations in the Kansas City area include: